


One For Luck

by ShadowsOffense



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: Family Dynamics, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-24
Updated: 2013-12-24
Packaged: 2018-01-05 23:40:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1099922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowsOffense/pseuds/ShadowsOffense
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fighting crime sometimes means missing birthdays.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One For Luck

Jim is quiet as he enters the house, or as quiet as he can be, since he has to jiggle the key in the lock to get the door to open. He doesn’t want to wake them, but, at the same time, it worries him how readily his family accepts someone slipping in in the night. He shakes his head, willing away the memories of the past two days. Standing in his darkened living room feels unpleasantly surreal. Like a talisman in the dark, this place, his family, has been what sustained him through hours of grime and coffee and, finally, the acidic smell of gun power and the tingle of copper on the back of his tongue. Being home feels more like a fantasy than a reality and guilt makes his shoulders slump as he picks his way through a minefield of toys and passed the banner that reads “Happy Birthday Barbara.”

This isn’t the first time he’s missed her birthday and, at ten, there aren’t many more years that he can make it up to her before she’s grown. And gone.

He pauses outside her door, barely ajar. His palm against the wood pushes it open and he peeks inside. She is a lump under the sheets, bright red hair grey in the half light with only a shimmer to hint at its color, her fire. Then her nose wrinkles and her eyes open.

“Daddy?”

“Hi sweety,” Jim’s voice is soft and laced with regret. “Did I wake you?”

“It’s ok,” she yawns as she sits and rubs her eyes with both hands. “I’m ten,” she tells him.

“I know,” he smiles at her proud tone, guilt not quite able to bear up against her sheer cuteness. “Happy Birthday. I’m so sorry I missed it. Did you have a good party?”

She giggles. “Uhuh. I saved you my luck candle.”

“Luck candle?”

“The extra one, for luck. Can we blow it out now?”

He nods, swallowing the lump in his throat, and carries her to the kitchen where he cuts them both slices. At her direction he finds the candle and matches and he teases her about having a second wish. When really, she’s fulfilling his.

* * *

Barbara tries to be quiet; it’s long passed her curfew and the light is on in the living room so she’s creeping in through her bedroom window. Only after she changes out of her tights and into sleep clothes does she breathe a sigh of relief.

Glancing at her bed longingly, she sneaks down the stairs. Her father has fallen asleep in an armchair waiting for her, again. Guiltily Barbara turns off the light and gets a blanket to cover him.

“Happy Birthday Dad,” she whispers as she turns to head back upstairs. Barbara freezes as her eyes land on the dinning room table, there are two pieces of cake set out on plates, one with a single candle, and she smiles. “I guess you get the extra wish this year.”


End file.
